Mig-21 Latest News
The Indian Air Force is set to retire Russian-made MiG-21 Bison fighter jets by September, marking an end of an era for one of its longest-serving aircraft.
About Mig-21
- It is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft.
- It was designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau (OKB) of the erstwhile Soviet Union.
- First inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 1963, the MiG-21 is India’s first-ever supersonic jet.
- India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) built 657 MiG-21s under a license that was granted by Russia.
- It is the second most produced jet aircraft in the world.
- Its NATO reporting name is ‘Fishbed’. Other nicknames include ‘Balalaika’ because its planform resembles the stringed musical instrument of the same name; ‘Ołówek’ (Polish for ‘pencil’), due to the shape of its fuselage; and ‘Én Bạc’, meaning ‘silver swallow’ in Vietnamese.
- The MiG-21 has seen more conflicts than any other fighter in history.
- The MiG-21 participated in nearly every war or conflict India has faced since 1963, the 1965 and 1971 India-Pakistan wars, the 1999 Kargil War, the Balakot airstrikes in 2019, and most recently, Operation Sindoor.
Source: N18
Last updated on January, 2026
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Mig-21 FAQs
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